How soon will on-form Bennedict Mathurin make his senior national team debut?

MIES (Switzerland) - Bennedict Mathurin has already commanded many headlines early in his career. Even before he played his first game at the professional level, he was already turning heads with bold statements that referred to LeBron James.

Now as the games have begun, Mathurin is backing up his claim and drawing attention as one of the most impressive rookies in the NBA. In his first three games, the Canadian scored a total of 72 points - the most by a rookie in his first three games since 1995.

Mathurin has "cooled down" a bit in his fourth game after dropping his lowest scoring output of his young career - only 17 points.

His performance so far should not come as a surprise to Canada basketball fans and FIBA basketball fans who watch the U19 World Cup last year. Mathurin was one of the best players for Canada in Riga, averaging 16.1 points per game on 48.8 percent shooting. He had two games scoring at least 30 points, including a 31-point outing in a win against Serbia to clinch the bronze medal.

All of this hype around the 2.01M (6'7") wing certainly has fans excited and pondering on when he will finally make his debut for the senior national team. Mathurin has been a part of the training camps and national team pools in the past and now it feels like it won't be long before he gets his turn.

"It was a great experience [to be a part of the training camp] and I am so proud to be one of the guys that is part of that group, pool of players that can play for the senior national team," said Mathurin before the start of his rookie season in the NBA.

"The level is very high, there are many, many talented guys and it’s always great to practice with very talented players. We have so much guys that can be in the roster, that is a great thing for the staff and coach, and also for the players because we are all so proud and wanting to wear the national team jersey and make our people proud."

"The national team has a lot of potential, and a lot of room for improvement and I am so excited for what is coming in the next couple of months and year. The present, and the future are both very exciting and I want to be part of that too."

It's good news for Canada that Mathurin has always expressed his commitment to be a part of the program and continues to do so as the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 inches closer with Canada looking on track to secure a qualification spot soon.

"[My commitment to help the national team] is very important to me and that is one of the goals of my career, that is for sure," said Mathurin before his rookie season.

"I am proud to be Canadian, I am proud to represent my country and I want to help the senior national team keep getting better and be part of the future of Team Canada. I talk very often to guys that are in the national team, and we all want to be there, to wear the jersey, to win games and to win titles and medals."

"That is a very important thing for all of us, and it’s the same for me. I really enjoyed wearing the Canadian jersey at youth level, and I want to do it also, for a long time, at senior level."

FIBA